Danske Bank has become the first of Northern Ireland's four main banks to enable its customers to use Google's contactless payment service in shops and online.

Google Pay joins a series of popular contactless forms of payment accepted by the bank, including Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Garmin Pay and Fitbit Pay. The services work anywhere contactless payments are accepted.

Kris Thompson from Danske Bank said: "Essentially, Google Pay functions as a digital version of a contactless bank card, using compatible Android devices such as smartphones or smartwatches.

"It means customers can just tap their phone on the contactless reader at the till and not have to worry about digging out their card or carrying around lots of cash."

According to Ofcom data, smartphone owners in NI have increased to 76% of the population.